Best of BoLS – Redefining the term “Miniature”, today we look at some of “the big guys” out there.

Doc; Our hobby is often defined as “something involving Miniatures”. Then occasionally someone builds a nice Forge World Kit. Or one of the Colossals from Privateer Press. And their size marks them as an impressive project. Then occasionally you get someone who decides a 24″ “miniature” is still just too damn small and does something stark raving mad. And it is those incredible builds (largely all WIP’s) that we assemble here today to pay tribute too. And with Apocalypse just around the corner….these guys should be getting some serious table time soon.

Shades;I’m no stranger to big builds myself, but these guys manage to take that concept to a whole new level. One of the things that really sets these miniatures (if such a paltry word could encapsulate such grand creations) apart from a lot of other big builds is the incredible levels of detail lavished upon them.

I’m a strong believer in pictures speaking a 1000 words, so I’ll just let the picture introduce themselves

The detail is incredible for a normal model let alone a scratch build. The complexities of the joints, the systems and the interior has been a pleasure to follow and now she (she being the Titan, not Mister Blackadder) seems to be reaching the final stages I can’t wait to see the final product.

Shades; I have been following this thread since Blackadder first started it, always eagerly awaiting the next post. Don’t be daunted by the size of the thread; you won’t get lost in hundreds of meaningless replies. Blackadder has given us all a great insight into his build process with loads of photos of every step of construction. What impresses me most of all is his sub-millimetre precision. Unlike a lot of scratch builds, there isn’t a dab of green stuff or filler on the model at all.

Look out for Blackadder’s other threads, including that Warhound pictured above hiding next to his big brother; another of his excellent scratchbuilds that is more similar to ForgeWorld’s master models than the kits they sell (if my eye is anything to go by!)

Again, this is another thread I’ve been following closely and an accomplishment I am trying to emulate. Isotope has created something worthy of legend here and has even had the image featured on Games Workshop’s Facebook page as a replacement for the silhouette on the Emperor Class Titan datasheet. Whilst the detail isn’t quite to the level of the Warlord above, this beasty is covered in great touches that really bring life to the piece whilst placing it firmly in the grim-dark setting we all know and love.

Doc; At the risk of sounding like a broken record, holy emperor that’s a big model! You can understand why most enemies simply surrender rather than fight when a Titan is deployed.

Most enemies. Not all. I’m sure the Orks would give them a good fightin’. Particularly if they had our next model backing them up. Sukigods Mega Ork Flier would give every Ork in its shadow a new sense of Gork (or Mork).

With enough Dakka in the front to make any Warboss envious, enough Powa! to make any Speed Freak jealous and enough breaking the laws of physics to make any Big Mek proud, this “miniature” would strike the fear into the heart of any enemy. More than just a tube with wings, the detailing and the internal structuring make this insane contraption worthy of its place in this post.

Shades; Shades; I truly love this model. It appeals to me as an Ork player, as an engineer and in general just makes me smile when I look at it. What makes it most astounding is, again, the insane level of detail on every square inch of this behemoth. The glyph plates, the crew, the rivets! Oh mighty Mork above, so many rivets! There is one bone of contention for me though; the camera tripod used as a flying stand, whilst understandable, certainly takes something away from the overall feel of the model. I say understandable because I would also want to protect such a masterful creation from being knocked over, as I have done fartoo many times with my larger model and high-flying creations, but I feel there must be an alternative solution that wouldn’t be quite so distracting.

On a nicer note though, do check out the rest of Sukigod’s thread; it is packed full of well painted models and other more unusual creations such as a statuette of Frankenstein’s monster and his cadaverous bride and a set of excellent working Slugga’s!Shades; Once again, that is it from me and DrLove. I hope you have enjoyed our foray into one of the more extravagant sides of our hobby. Have any of you been inspired to start a project like this of your own? Are you part way through building your own titan or some superheavy flyer to rival a Tau Manta? Let us know in the comments or better yet get yourself over to the Miniatures, Hobby and Project Lounge and start your own thread.)Doc; Yep, models like these really redefine the word “miniature”. I’m hopeful that when we see Apocolypse redone in the next month or so we’ll see lots more big models for people to gawk at. Until then….go out there and paint something wonderful for us to share!